Miran Stupa 3: Sakyamuni Buddha and Disciples

CHINA, Xinjiang, Bayingolin

These mural fragments were discovered by Aurel Stein in the rubble of the collapsed walls of the northeast section of the stupa. Other fragments from the same location portray the Buddha’s encounter with Angulimalya, suggesting that these fragments were part of a mural depicting the Life of the Buddha.
On the left fragment, Sakyamuni Buddha is shown with a nimbus, black hair, curved eyebrows, and a mustache. He wears a brown monastic robe that covers both shoulders, and forms the abhaya (fearlessness) mudra with his right hand. On the right, six disciples stand in two rows. The disciples all have a similar appearance, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and red lips. The disciple on the top left holds a whisk in his hand. The figure on the bottom right appears older than the others, with two wrinkled lines on his brow. On the far right, the arm of a figure holding a white flower is visible against a black background decorated with floral patterns. These figures bear resemblance to the image of the Winged Heavenly Being kept in the same museum.